To mark the 40th anniversary of Country Sampler, we're taking a look back at our beginnings-to both honor the timeless appeal of country decorating and share a pictorial that revisits the trends that have come and gone. From heart-bedecked furnishings to brass light fixtures to Williamsburg blue and dusty rose palettes, country style has fluctuated and grown into different looks over time, but remains squarely centered on the concept of creating a warm and inviting home.
The late Country Sampler founder Mark A. Nickel understood this personally, as he and his wife partnered with friends on a crafting business. They painted crocks with stenciled designs, cut lids from sassafras boards, and sold their creations at markets near their Illinois home.
Seeking a larger audience for the products-and dismayed which launched in spring 1984 with a unique business model. The publication comprised advertiser listings adjacent pictures of rooms that were styled with those products to give readers decorating ideas for those goods. The earliest rooms shown were those of Mark and his friends.
